U.S. patent number 7,343,568 [Application Number 10/959,917] was granted by the patent office on 2008-03-11 for navigation pattern on a directory tree.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Yahoo! Inc.. Invention is credited to Yingquing Lawrence Cui, Zhaowei Charlie Jiang.
United States Patent |
7,343,568 |
Jiang , et al. |
March 11, 2008 |
Navigation pattern on a directory tree
Abstract
Navigation management occurs in a mobile device during a
directory up-down scroll and it involves a user interface and a
directory (e.g., mobile directory of photos). The directory is a
tree-shaped hierarchy of nodes such that any node on the directory
is selectable by a user via the user interface. This way navigation
can flow up-down through the directory. Additionally, the
navigation management involves associating a state and one or more
action items with each node and saving the state. The state is an
expanded or collapsed condition of the node. If the state of a
particular node is expanded, additional nodes at a lower level of
the hierarchy are presented to the user. If its state is collapsed
only that particular node is presented and the other nodes are
hidden. The user interface includes for any node selected by the
user its associated one or more action items.
Inventors: |
Jiang; Zhaowei Charlie (San
Jose, CA), Cui; Yingquing Lawrence (San Jose, CA) |
Assignee: |
Yahoo! Inc. (Sunnyvale,
CA)
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Family
ID: |
34557821 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/959,917 |
Filed: |
October 5, 2004 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20050102635 A1 |
May 12, 2005 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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60518898 |
Nov 10, 2003 |
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60518897 |
Nov 10, 2003 |
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60518858 |
Nov 10, 2003 |
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60518857 |
Nov 10, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/854; 715/810;
707/E17.116; 707/E17.111; 707/999.104; 455/557; 707/999.107 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M
1/72439 (20210101); G06F 16/958 (20190101); H04M
1/72403 (20210101); G06F 3/0482 (20130101); G06F
16/954 (20190101); Y10S 707/99945 (20130101); Y10S
707/99948 (20130101); H04M 1/72445 (20210101); H04M
1/72406 (20210101); H04M 1/72427 (20210101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
3/048 (20060101); G06F 7/00 (20060101); H04B
1/38 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;715/854,810 ;455/557
;707/104.1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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WO-2005/048073 |
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May 2005 |
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WO |
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WO-2005/048077 |
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May 2005 |
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WO |
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WO-2005/048077 |
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May 2005 |
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WO |
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Other References
"OFOTO" Enter a World of Digital Photography! with the following
web pages: http://www.ofoto.com/Welcome.jsp;
http://www.ofoto.com/UploadHome.jsp?;
http://www.ofoto.com/UploadChoices.,jsp?;
http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoOverview.jsp?;
http://www.ofoto.com/ShareOverview.jsp?;
http://www.ofoto.com/OrderOverview.jsp?;
http://www.ofoto.com/UploadOverview.jsp?;
http://www.ofoto.com/HelpClient3.jsp?, printed Dec. 3, 2004. cited
by other .
Abernethy, M. (Jan. 1, 2003). "Mobile Device Optimization," located
at
<http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/library/wi-devo/?ca=dnt-41>,
last Nov. 13, 2006, 8 pages. cited by other .
Non-Final Office Action mailed on Jun. 26, 2007, for U.S. Appl. No.
10/934,645 filed on Sep. 2, 2004, 13 pages. cited by other .
Non-Final Office Action mailed on Jun. 26, 2007, for U.S. Appl. No.
10/970,862 filed on Oct. 22, 2004, 8 pages. cited by other.
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Primary Examiner: Cabeca; John
Assistant Examiner: Zhou; Ting
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Morrison & Foerster LLP
Parent Case Text
REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of and incorporates by
reference U.S. Provisional Application 60/518,898 entitled "BACK
BUTTON IN MOBILE APPLICATION," U.S. Provisional Application
60/518,858, entitled "NAVIGATION PATTERN ON A DIRECTORY TREE," U.S.
Provisional Application 60/518,857, entitled "BACKUP AND RESTORE IN
MOBILE APPLICATIONS," and U.S. Provisional Application 60/518,897,
entitled "UPLOAD SECURITY SCHEME," all of which were filed Nov. 10,
2003.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for managing navigation in mobile devices, comprising:
providing a user interface in a mobile device; constructing a
mobile photo album directory as a tree-shaped hierarchy of nodes;
providing the directory such that any node on the directory is
selectable by a user via the user interface, whereby navigation can
flow up-down through the directory; associating a state and one or
more action items with each node; saving the state of each node,
the state being an expanded or collapsed condition of the node,
wherein if the state of a particular node is expanded additional
nodes at a lower level of the hierarchy are presented to the user,
otherwise if the state is collapsed only that particular node is
presented and the other nodes are hidden; and for a node selected
by the user providing in the user interface the node's associated
one or more action items in a menu, wherein the menu is displayable
on the mobile device's screen as a pull-down menu or a pop-up menu,
and displaying a photo associated with the node selected by the
user, wherein the photo is downloaded from a server onto the mobile
device, wherein the action items include save to mobile, email
photo, thumbnails, online albums, home, or a combination thereof,
and selection of an action item brings up a page that corresponds
to the action item, wherein selection of home causes display of a
page having mobile album and online album options, wherein the
mobile album is an album of photos stored locally on the mobile
device, and the online album is an album of photos stored on the
server, selection of online album allows the user to access and
manipulate photo images that have been uploaded to the server, and
selection of mobile album allows the user to access and manipulate
photo images that have been downloaded from the server into the
mobile album.
2. A method as in claim 1, wherein selecting save to mobile causes
a photo image associated with the node selected by the user to be
saved in the mobile album.
3. A method as in claim 1, wherein the nodes in the tree-shaped
hierarchy include a root node and any number of child nodes, and
wherein any node that is childless is a leaf node which in the
mobile album is a photo.
4. A method as in claim 1, wherein selecting email photo causes a
photo image associated with the node selected by the user to be
sent to an email address selected by the user.
5. A method as in claim 1, wherein selecting thumbnails causes a
photo thumbs page to be displayed, wherein the photo thumbs page
shows a group of thumbnail photo images from a selected album.
6. A method as in claim 1, wherein an application program is
operable to backup the photo to a server each time the user saves
the photo to the mobile album.
7. A method as in claim 1, wherein selection of the mobile album
causes a download history list of photos to be displayed if the
mobile album is empty, the download history list includes photos
backed up to the server, and selection of at least one photo from
the download history list causes the at least one photo to be
downloaded to the mobile album from a server.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is a wireless
device.
9. A computer readable medium embodying a computer program with
program code for managing navigation in mobile devices, comprising:
program code for providing a user interface in a mobile device;
program code for constructing a mobile photo album directory as a
tree-shaped hierarchy of nodes; program code for providing the
directory such that any node on the directory is selectable by a
user via the user interface, whereby navigation can flow up-down
through the directory; program code for associating a state and one
or more action items with each node; program code for saving the
state of each node, the state being an expanded or collapsed
condition of the node, wherein if the state of a particular node is
expanded additional nodes at a lower level of the hierarchy are
presented to the user, otherwise if the state is collapsed only
that particular node is presented and the other nodes are hidden;
and program code for providing in the user interface for a node
selected by the user the node's associated one or more action items
in a menu, wherein the menu is displayable on the mobile device's
screen as a pull-down menu or a pop-up menu, and displaying a photo
associated with the node selected by the user, wherein the photo is
downloaded from a server onto the mobile device, wherein the action
items include save to mobile, email photo, thumbnails, online
albums, home, or a combination thereof, and selection of an action
item brings up a page that corresponds to the action item, wherein
selection of home causes display of a page having mobile album and
online album options, wherein the mobile album is an album of
photos stored locally on the mobile device, and the online album is
an album of photos stored on the server, selecting online album
allows the user to access and manipulate photo images that have
been uploaded to the server, and selecting mobile album allows the
user to access and manipulate photo images that have been
downloaded from the server into the mobile album.
10. A computer readable medium as in claim 9, wherein selecting
save to mobile causes a photo image associated with the node
selected by the user to be saved in the mobile album, wherein the
mobile album is stored on the mobile device.
11. A computer readable medium as in claim 9, wherein the nodes in
the tree-shaped hierarchy include a root node and any number of
child nodes, and wherein any node that is childless is a leaf node
which in the mobile album is a photo.
12. A computer readable medium as in claim 9, wherein selecting
email photo causes a photo image associated with the node selected
by the user to be sent to an email address selected by the
user.
13. A computer readable medium as in claim 9, wherein selecting
thumbnails causes a photo thumbs page to be displayed, wherein the
photo thumbs page shows a group of thumbnail photo images from a
selected album.
14. A computer readable medium as in claim 9, wherein an
application program is operable to backup the photo to a server
each time the user saves the photo to the mobile album.
15. A computer readable medium as in claim 9, wherein selection of
the mobile album causes a download history list of photos to be
displayed if the mobile album is empty, wherein the download
history list includes photos backed up to the server, and selection
of at least one photo from the download history list causes the at
least one photo to be downloaded to the mobile album from a
server.
16. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the mobile
device is a wireless device.
17. A system for providing management of navigation in a mobile
device, comprising: a processor; a screen for a user interface; and
a memory embodying a client-side program with program code for
causing the processor to perform steps, including: providing the
user interface; constructing a mobile photo album directory as a
tree-shaped hierarchy of nodes; providing the directory such that
any node on the directory is selectable by a user via the user
interface, whereby navigation can flow up-down through the
directory; associating a state and one or more action items with
each node; saving in the memory the state of each node, the state
being an expanded or collapsed condition of the node, wherein if
the state of a particular node is expanded additional nodes at a
lower level of the hierarchy are presented to the user, otherwise
if the state is collapsed only that particular node is presented
and the other nodes are hidden; and for a node selected by the user
providing in the user interface the node's associated one or more
action items in a menu, wherein the menu is displayable on the
mobile device's screen as a pull-down menu or a pop-up menu, and
displaying a photo associated with the node selected by the user,
wherein the photo is downloaded from a server onto the mobile
device, wherein the action items include save to mobile, email
photo, thumbnails, online albums, home, or a combination thereof,
and selection of an action item brings up a page that corresponds
to the action item, wherein selection of home causes display of a
page having mobile album and online album options, wherein the
mobile album is an album of photos stored locally on the mobile
device, and the online album is an album of photos stored on the
server, selecting online album allows the user to access and
manipulate photo images that have been uploaded to the server, and
selecting mobile album allows the user to access and manipulate
photo images that have been downloaded from the server into the
mobile album.
18. A system as in claim 17, wherein selecting save to mobile
causes a photo image associated with the node selected by the user
to be saved in the mobile album, wherein the mobile album is stored
on the mobile device.
19. A system as in claim 17, wherein the nodes in the tree-shaped
hierarchy include a root node and any number of child nodes, and
wherein any node that is childless is a leaf node which in the
mobile album is a photo.
20. A system as in claim 17, wherein selecting email photo causes a
photo image associated with the node selected by the user to be
sent to an email address selected by the user.
21. A system as in claim 17, wherein selecting thumbnails causes a
photo thumbs page to be displayed, wherein the photo thumbs page
shows a group of thumbnail photo images from a selected album.
22. A system as in claim 17, wherein an application program is
operable to backup the photo to a server each time the user saves
the photo to the mobile album.
23. A system as in claim 17, wherein selection of the mobile album
causes a download history list of photos to be displayed if the
mobile album is empty, wherein the download history list includes
photos backed up to the server, and selection of at least one photo
from the download history list causes the at least one photos to be
downloaded to the mobile album from a server.
24. The system of claim 17, wherein the mobile device is a wireless
device.
25. The system of claim 17, wherein the mobile device is a wireless
camera phone.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to wireless mobile devices
and more particularly to applications that offer navigation in a
directory tree. Among such applications, one type is a mobile
photos application.
BACKGROUND
Mobile-friendly technologies are advanced to provide a rich
multimedia environment and enhance the wireless device users'
experience. An outcome of this evolution is the manifest closeness
between the wireless universe and the Internet domain, as well as
the advent of wireless devices with multimedia capabilities. The
newest versions of mobile wireless devices such as digital mobile
phones, pagers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handsets, and
any other wireless terminals, have multimedia capabilities
including the ability to retrieve e-mail, and push and pull
information via the Internet.
However, because mobile devices typically have limited display size
and an awkward navigation mechanism, it is always a challenge to
navigate up/down a directory tree while simultaneously providing
multiple action choices for a selected item. Hence, with a limited
memory capacity, screen space and user interface capability, there
is a need to optimize the mechanism for navigating a directory tree
(a tree-shaped directory) and for taking context sensitive actions.
The directory navigation approach presented here proposes a
solution to this and related problems.
SUMMARY
The present invention is based, in part, on the observation that a
need exists for effective management of navigation in mobile
devices, and that navigation patterns can be improved as described
below. Accordingly, the navigation management concept is
implemented providing a navigation pattern in a directory tree
along with one or more context-specific action choices (menu or
icons). For each selected item in the directory, the action choices
can be different and tailored to that item.
The principles of the proposed directory tree navigation management
apply equally well to any mobile application although it is
illustrated here with reference to a mobile photos application
program implemented as the client-side Yahoo !Photos program.
For the purpose of this invention, as embodied and broadly
described herein, a method, a computer readable medium and a system
are proposed as possible implementations of the navigation
management concept. These implementations involve a mobile device
that is typically capable of communicating with a server and other
mobile devices. The mobile devices are often wireless devices such
as wireless camera phones and the content is photograph data (or
simply one or more photos).
In one embodiment, a method for managing navigation in mobile
devices involves providing user interface in a mobile device,
constructing a directory as a tree-shaped hierarchy of nodes, and
providing the directory such that any node on the directory is
selectable by a user via the user interface. This way, the
navigation can flow up-down through the directory tree. This method
involves also associating a state and one or more action items with
each node and saving the state of each node. The state is an
expanded or collapsed condition of the node, wherein if the state
of a particular node is expanded additional nodes at a lower level
of the hierarchy are presented to the user, otherwise if the state
is collapsed only that particular node is presented and the other
nodes are hidden. In this method there is the further step of
providing in the user interface for any node selected by the user
its associated one or more action items.
For any node that is selectable by the user, the one or more action
items associated with that node are action choices provided in the
user interface either as icons or as menu items. Moreover, for any
node selectable by the user during the up-down navigation the
number of action items associated with such node is determined by
its nature, there being provided only action items that apply to
such node. Then, overflow indicators are provided when the number
of these action items exceeds a maximum number of action items that
fit in the user interface, wherein the overflow indicators enable
the user to scroll back a forth through all these action items.
In a typical operation, initially, a visible part of the directory
provided to the user includes a top level of the tree-shaped
hierarchy of nodes in a collapsed state. But as selected ones of
these nodes are toggled they are expanded and more nodes, at a
lower level of the hierarchy, are made visible and when toggled
again these higher-level nodes are again collapsed.
Typically also, the mobile devices are a wireless devices such as a
wireless camera phones that download and run the Yahoo !Photos
program. Thus, with Yahoo !Photos programs, the directory is a
mobile album. In this case, the nodes in the tree-shaped hierarchy
include a root node and any number of child nodes, such that any
node that is childless is a leaf node which in the mobile album is
a photo.
The approach described above can be implemented in a computer
readable medium embodying a computer program with program code for
providing the navigation. The computer program is the client side
of the mobile application program. Other parts of a typical mobile
application are the server side and networking service
programs.
A system for providing the navigation management in a mobile device
includes a processor, a screen for user interface, and a memory.
The memory embodies a client-side program with program code for
causing the processor to perform the method steps as described
above.
As can be understood from these examples, by introducing the
navigation capability to the system, the present invention makes
the interface more user friendly. Such advantages will be
appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art from the
description and practice of the invention disclosed herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute
a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the
invention and together with the description serve to explain the
principles of the invention. Wherever convenient, same or similar
numbers or designations are used throughout the drawings to refer
to the same or like elements.
FIG. 1 shows a wireless interconnection model using one of the many
types of available bearer networks.
FIG. 1A shows another model of interaction, via bearer networks,
between 3.sup.rd-generation (3G)-enabled mobile devices and servers
as well as other devices.
FIG. 2 shows a mobile phone with features associated with the
present invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates the flow once users reach the Yahoo! Photos
landing page.
FIGS. 4A-4D show the respective PC-based and mobile device-based
registration and application buy flow diagrams.
FIGS. 5A and 5B show the screen flows for online albums and mobile
albums, respectively.
FIG. 5C, parts (i) and (ii), describes setting up favorites for the
mobile album slideshow.
FIG. 5D shows flow diagrams for photos view, share and save.
FIG. 5E illustrates the flow of restoring the mobile album from the
server backup.
FIG. 6 provides a simplified diagram to illustrate the back button
feature.
FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a mobile album showing a list of photos
and action icons at the bottom of the screen.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention contemplates a navigation pattern in a
directory tree and implementation of this concept in mobile
applications. One such application is mobile photos, an example of
which is referred to as the Yahoo! Photos.TM. application. Yahoo!
and Yahoo! Photos are trademarks of Yahoo! Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif.
Any other trademarks are the property of their respective
holders.
Indeed, although it can be implemented in various applications, for
clarity and for illustration, the approach contemplated by the
present invention is described here in the context of the Yahoo!
Photos application. Thus it is useful to provide a description of
the Yahoo! photos program in which an instance of the directory
navigation is embodied. The description of this application
precedes the details of the navigation to give it proper
context.
The server side of this application is the "server Yahoo! Photos,"
and the client side of this application is the mobile client
application, or "client Yahoo! Photos." A client application is
generally considered to be a downloadable application; namely,
J2ME.TM. (Java.TM. 2 platform, Micro Edition, by Sun Microsystems,
Inc.), Yahoo! Photos.TM., or any other application that is
downloadable to the mobile device. In the example here, the client
Yahoo! Photos runs on a mobile phone, and more specifically, a
mobile camera phone.
The Wireless Communication Environment
A. Wireless Communication Protocols
Wireless protocols, the standards which govern communications of
data between wireless devices and the Internet, utilize and support
the enhanced capabilities of modern mobile wireless devices and
Internet content technologies. Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)
is an often used standard, and other standards include the Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP), M-services, i-Mode and Web clipping.
Although other protocols are also possible, WAP appears to provide
a proper framework for the content sharing. Therefore, adoption of
standards such as WAP is suitable for the purpose of the present
invention, and it is discussed in some detail below.
The adoption of WAP builds on existing Internet standards and
protocols adapted for use in wireless communication networks and
addresses the unique characteristics of mobile wireless devices
(with limited computing, memory, display, user interface, and power
capabilities). WAP is a specification suite defining a set of
protocols for presentation and delivery of wireless information and
telephony services on mobile wireless devices. WAP services provide
information access and delivery to WAP-enabled devices. WAP was
designed to empower users with easy and instant access to
information and interactive services. Thus, interoperability
between WAP-enabled device is possible through any WAP-compliant
infrastructure to deliver timely information and accept transaction
and queries.
WAP can be built on any operating system, including PalmOS, EPOC,
Windows CE, FLEXOS, OS/9, JAVA OS etc. Being air interface
independent, WAP is designed to be scalable to new networks as they
develop, allowing bearer independence and development of common
solutions across disparate networks.
The term "WAP" is commonly used to refer to the wireless
application environment (WAE) although it is WAE that includes the
WAP suit of protocols and technologies. WAE provides the rich
application environment which enables delivery of information and
interactive services to mobile wireless devices. An important
aspect of the WAE is the WAP stack, namely the wireless protocol
layers, as shown for example in FIG. 1. At the bottom of the WAP
stack 11 is a network layer, topped by the transport layer, the
security layer, the transaction layer, and the session layer.
Briefly, the network protocol layer supports network interface
definitions, governing interface with the networks of wireless
service providers (wireless bearers) such as short message service
(SMS), code division multiple access (CDMA), cellular digital
packet data (CDPD), general packet radio service (GPRS), high speed
circuit-switched data (HSCSD), third generation (3G), GSM (global
system for mobile communications), and unstructured supplementary
service data (USSD) channel. The wireless transport layer supports
the wireless datagram protocol (WDP), and when operating over an IP
(Internet protocol) network layer WDP is replaced with user
datagram protocol/IP (UDP/IP). WDP offers to the upper protocol
layers a datagram service and transparent communication over the
underlying bearer services. In other words, WDP offers to the upper
protocol layers a common interface to and ability to function
independent of the type of bearer wireless network. The wireless
transport layer security (WTLS) provides a secure transport service
to preserve the privacy, authentication and data integrity of the
transport service at the layer below, as well as the ability to
create and terminate secure connections between communicating
applications. The transaction protocol (WTP) layer provides
transaction oriented protocol for the WAP datagram service,
including, for example, request-response transactions. The wireless
session protocol (WSP) layer provides HTTP/1.1 functionality and
features such as session suspend/resume. The WSP provides the
upper-level application lever of the WAE with an interface to
connection and connectionless services operating above the
transaction protocol and the datagram transport layers,
respectively.
The WAE (i.e., the wireless application environment) is further
fashioned with a wireless markup language (WML) micro-browser, a
WML script virtual machine, a WML script standard library, a
wireless telephony application interface (TAI), and WAP content
types. The WAP micro-browser, also referred to as the "WAP
browser," facilitates interaction between WAP/Web applications and
WAP-enabled devices. The micro-browser is a tag-based wireless
browser application supporting wireless markup language (WML), and
extensible transport hyperlink markup language (XTHML). The
micro-browser uses the "card" metaphor for user interface, where
user interactions are split into cards. The WAP card metaphor
provides a common interface to which all applications can conform,
much like the desktop metaphor in PCs. The micro-browser supports
user actions, defined at tree levels (deck, card, and select &
link options, i.e., ACCEPT, PREV, etc.) and default tasks (PREV,
NOOP, etc.). For example, a deck of cards is split into a
navigation card, variables card, and input elements card. A
navigation card is formed as a script encapsulated with the `card`
tags. The following example of a card includes the type of
interaction (DO TYPE="ACCEPT") and link (GO URL="#eCARD").
TABLE-US-00001 <CARD> <DO TYPE="ACCEPT"> <GO
URL="#eCARD"/> </DO WELCOME! </CARD>
B. Wireless Communication Infrastructure
FIG. 1 shows a wireless interconnection model 10 using one of the
many types of available bearer networks 12. The illustrated
wireless mobile devices 100 are presumed to have sufficient local
memory and Internet access capability to allow a user to download
programs from servers 18 through the Internet 16 (and any other
network such as LAN, WAN or Ethernet network) and store them in the
local memory. Thus, wireless subscribers can gain fast access to
content in these or other servers via the Internet through various
downloadable applications. Note that the illustrated server 18 can
be the origin of downloadable programs as well as the origin, or
destination, of content; although programs and content can
originate at or be destined for different servers. For the purpose
of this illustration, the web server 18 is the source of the Yahoo!
Photos client side application as well as the source, and
destination, of content, particularly photos (image data). Using
the downloaded program, such as Yahoo! Photos, and with multimedia
capabilities, including the ability to retrieve e-mail, and push
and pull information via the Internet, network operators (or, more
generally, service providers) add value propositions beyond voice
or text offerings.
Indeed, with this capability, users can capture photo images in
their mobile devices, store and manipulate the captured images, and
upload data of the captured images to a server (e.g., server 18).
Thus, the server 18 operates as a repository for the data of photo
images, and users can download from the server to their mobile
devices data of previously captured photo images, as well as store
and manipulate such images. Photos resident on one mobile device
can be shared with another via the server 18 and the communication
network(s) 12 and 16.
In this wireless interconnect model, the mobile phones used to
download the Yahoo! Photos client side program are WAP-enabled. As
shown in FIG. 1, the WAP-enabled devices 100 support the WAP
protocol and the server 18 typically supports the WWW (world-wide
web) protocol. In particular, the wireless application environment
at the mobile device side 11 includes the micro-browser, a suite of
WAP protocols at the network through session layers, and the
downloadable (client-side) Yahoo! Photos application program. The
micro-browser defines how WML documents and WML script applets
should be interpreted and presented to the mobile device user. The
Micro-browser's WTA (wireless telephone application) functionality
provides call control, phone book access and messaging within WML
script applets to allow selective call forwarding or other secure
telephony. The wireless application environment at the server side
13 includes the server-side Yahoo! Photos in addition to a standard
web browser and WWW protocol stack (HTTP and TCP/IP).
To enable web-based access to content, service providers deploy
wireless data through the carrier network 12 while controlling the
data communications to their subscribers and tracking the billable
activity. Typically, the gateway 14 is tasked with tracking
subscriber activities, controlling access and, in addition,
functioning as the proxy for the mobile device 100, on the one
hand, and for the server 18, on the other hand. The gateway 14 is
implemented, building on standard web proxy technology, to
interconnect the services offered by the wireless service providers
to the HTTP protocol so as to permit access to content on the wired
Internet.
One model of interaction between a WAP-enabled device, the
WAP-enabled proxy/gateway, and the server, is the Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 1.1 response/request transaction, where
HTTP 1.1 is profiled for the wireless environment. The gateway (13
& 14) translates requests from the WAP protocol to the WWW
protocol, and vice versa; translating WML(/HTML) documents to
HTML(/WML), resolving domain names in URLs and providing a control
point for managing access. From the WAP-enabled gateway with
encoders/decoders, the URL requests or WML documents (possibly in
encoded form) can be sent encoded/decoded to add security to the
user interaction. Note that, unlike the flat structure of HTML
documents, WML documents are divided into a set of user interaction
units, namely a deck of cards. Each user interaction unit is a card
(or page), and the user can navigate between cards in one or more
WML documents.
Another model of interaction between a WAP-enabled device, the
WAP-enabled proxy/gateway, and the server, is the HTTP
response/request transaction (protocol running on top of the
Internet's TCP/IP suite of protocols). This model is appropriate
for the newer WAP 2.0 (with protocol stack not shown in FIG. 1).
Unlike the above-mentioned, and illustrated, WAP stack 11, WAP 2.0
stack includes the IP, TCP (transmission control protocol), TLS,
HTTP and WAE layers atop the network layer (all of which are
profiled for wireless environment). For example, the wireless
profile for the TLS protocol will permit interoperability for
secure transactions.
Yet another model of interaction via bearer networks, between
3.sup.rd-generation (3G)-enabled mobile devices and servers or
other devices, is shown in FIG. 1A. As shown, a 3G terminal
supports higher-speed, wider-band wireless cellular service
communications based on various technologies, including wide code
division multiple access (W-CDMA), general packet radio service
(GPRS), global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced
data rates for global evolution (EDGE), unified threat management
system (UMTS), and high speed circuit switched data (HSCSD). A 3G
terminal is equipped with cordless connections for local, short
distance communications. The communication protocols in the 3G
terminal are comparable to the open system interconnection (OSI)
protocols, layered in the OSI stack.
Various services are supported by these protocols, including web
browsing, short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service
(MMS), e-mail, M-commerce, real-time video, and pre-paid. The MMS,
for example, is a store and forward messaging service capable of
adding multimedia elements to SMS, including images, text, audio
clips, and video clips. MMS is synchronized across a common
timeline, rather than being discrete like e-mail and SMS; it is
akin to a presentation layer over e-mail and looking like a slide
show with images. On a compatible phone, the MMS message will
appear with a new message alert. The picture message will open on
the screen, the text will appear below the image and the sound will
begin to play automatically.
Downloadable applications such as Yahoo! Photos and network games
are likewise supported in the 3G terminal and interact with
services such as MMS. The originator can easily create a multimedia
message, either using a built-in or accessory camera, or can use
images and sounds stored previously in the phone (and possibly
downloaded from a web site). However, for simplicity, the following
description assumes that the mobile device is a WAP-enabled camera
phone used for downloading photo applications such as the Yahoo!
Photos.
FIG. 2 shows a mobile phone 100, not necessarily associated with
any particular manufacturer, but with features suitable for the
purpose of the present invention. For example, to accommodate the
Yahoo! Photos application, the mobile phone 100 has a camera
feature with the camera lens 112 exposed for capturing images. The
mobile phone 100 also has a 5-point navigation key (also called
game key) 114, and it features left, right, up, down and selection,
or `OK,` functions, substantially mimicking the operations of a
mouse. The main menu button 116 activates the menu display on the
screen, and the main OK button 118 activates a menu selection. The
`back` button 110 is shown as a hardware key whose position here is
merely exemplary. Namely, the physical placement of the `back`
button is device dependent, where it is anticipated that buttons on
different devices may be arranged differently. A `back` soft-key is
possible to implement a `back` function of the WAP browser, which
means that it would show up as an icon or menu item on the screen
of the mobile phone.
As further shown in FIG. 2, the Yahoo!-enabled phone 100 supports
wireless cellular service communications based on various
technologies such as the GPRS and GSM. This device is configured
for supporting WAP communication protocols (at all layers of the
WAP stack). Various services shown as being supported by these
protocols, include web browsing, SMS, MMS, e-mail, M-commerce,
real-time video, and pre-paid. The downloadable programs shown to
interact with such services include the network games and Yahoo!
Photos.
The mobile device functionality is preferably implemented using a
platform, such as the J2ME.TM. platform, which is tailored for a
broad range of embedded devices including mobile phones. The
J2ME.TM. platform includes a set of standard Java APIs (application
programming Interface), and provides a user interface, a security
model, built-in network protocols (e.g., WAP, as shown in FIG. 1),
and support for networked and disconnected applications (Yahoo!
Photos is a networked application).
With the J2ME.TM. platform, applications are written once for a
wide range of device. Applications leveraging each device's native
capabilities are then downloaded dynamically. The J2ME.TM. platform
defines configurations, profiles and optional packages as elements
for building complete Java run time environments. Configurations
are composed of a virtual machine and a minimal set of class
libraries and provide the base functionality for a particular range
of devices that share similar characteristics. Current
configurations include connected limited device configuration
(CLDC) for devices with limited memory and processing capabilities
(e.g., mobile phones, two-way pagers, and PDAs) and connected
device configuration (CDC) for devices with better memory,
processing and network bandwidth capabilities (e.g., TV set-top
boxes, residential gateways, in-vehicle telematics systems, and
hi-end PDAs). However, in order to provide a complete runtime
environment targeted at specific device categories, the
configurations must be combined with a set of the high-level APIs,
or profiles, that further define the application life cycle model,
access to device-specific properties, and user interface.
One example of profiles is the mobile information device profile
(MIDP) which is designed for mobile phones and entry-level PDAs.
MIDP offers a core application functionality required by mobile
applications, including user interface, network connectivity, local
data storage, and application management. The J2ME.TM. can be
further extended by combining various optional packages and their
corresponding profiles to address specific market requirements,
e.g., Bluetooth.TM., web services, wireless messaging, multimedia,
and database connectivity.
The Navigation in the Context of Mobile Yahoo! Photos
Note that the example here focuses on the camera phone, but the
principles of the present invention are not limited to camera
phones. Any phone or other wireless mobile device can embody a
variation of the present invention. When the mobile device is a
smart handset, downloading application programs and implementing
the navigation scheme are possible even though the communications
with the service provider may be different in character.
It should be mentioned that, although the manufacturer provides the
Yahoo!-enabled phone 100 with camera functionality--i.e.,
functionality for capturing images, and saving, displaying,
manipulating, transmitting and receiving data of images--this
camera functionality is independent from the Yahoo! Photos program.
That is, data of the captured images reside in the mobile phone
outside the Yahoo! Photos environment until such time that this
data is introduced to the Yahoo! Photos environment by being first
uploaded to the Yahoo! server and then downloaded to the local
(mobile) Yahoo! Photos album, as will be later explained.
On mobile devices, various client application programs are offered
to the user on a default start-up or main menu screen or on a
manufacturer-installed virtual vending machine screen. Other
selection items include, for example, the menu item for setting the
sound. These start up and vending screens show a menu with a list
(or icons) of applications which the user can obtain by following
an install procedure. The menu provides links to various service
web sites, including, for example, the Yahoo! Photos site. The
links, of course, are URLs (Uniform Resource Locator)--i.e., the
world wide web address of a site on the Internet, and on the
Yahoo!-enabled phone, at least one such menu item is the link for
downloading the Yahoo! Photos application.
FIG. 3 illustrates the flow once users reach the mobile application
site, which, in this example, is the Yahoo! Photos landing page.
The URL for the landing page is obtained via a link from a
promotional web page, through a web search, or from a bookmark (or
favorites). The flow is shown as originating on a user's PC
(personal computer) and it commences with program information
presented at the landing page 302 on the PC display. The contents
303 and 304 of the landing page is presented to show the options
available to the user based on whether or not the user has already
purchased the Yahoo! Photos program. For instance, the landing page
presents to the user the Yahoo! Photos program name with the option
of "how to get it now" 304, as well as upload information 306a,
flash demo 306b, and pricing information 306d, say, "$2.99
monthly." To buy the application the user clicks on the application
name, Yahoo! Photos, or on "how to get it now." Subsequent to the
registration 400.sub.A-D, a query (such as "would you like to buy
it for $2.99?") prompts the user to accept/reject the offer 320.
Then, for the purpose of implementing upload security, the user is
prompted to establish upload opt-in parameters 500, as will be
later explained.
If the user accepts the offer to buy the application, the order is
confirmed 322 and the application is downloaded into the mobile
phone, becoming resident on the mobile phone. FIGS. 4A-4D show the
respective PC-based and mobile-based registration and buy flow
diagrams.
Incidentally, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, if the user confirms
acceptance, assuming the user has an account on the server having
signed in before, the user is prompted to provide the telephone
number of the mobile phone. With that phone number, the server
sends a short message embedded with a link to the mobile phone and
causes the mobile phone to vibrate or, otherwise, signals the user
with a message requesting confirmation of the purchase 326. With
this confirmation 426 the server proceeds to send the program to
the mobile phone.
As shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, registration can originate on the PC
or the mobile phone. In the PC-based registration process, once,
the compatible phone list is reviewed 450 and the phone is deemed
compatible, registration can go forward starting with the user
entering the 10-digit mobile phone number 452. The service provider
dials the 10-digit phone number and requests confirmation from the
user via that mobile phone 456. The user is also prompted to follow
the buy instructions 460 or follow the link to the vending machine
458. Once the download takes place the Yahoo! Photos client home
page 268 is presented on the mobile screen. Alternatively, rather
than indirectly via the PC, a program such as Yahoo! Photos can be
purchased directly via the mobile phone, as shown in FIG. 4C. That
is, the registration process originating from the mobile phone is
launched from the menu page, e.g. Yahoo! home pages 470 or 472.
Beyond that, the link to (virtual) vendor machine page 462,
download page 464, confirmation page 466 and home page 468 are
similar to those in FIG. 4B.
FIG. 4D shows a first-time purchase flow. As can be seen, the
purchase can originate either at the PC or the mobile phone,
starting with the respective landing page. Note that in the
PC-based process the landing page 480 is obtained via a standard
browser. In the mobile-based process, the landing page 482 presents
the WAP sites, assuming the mobile phone is WAP compliant and uses
the micro-browser for linking to this and subsequent pages. Then,
for a first time purchaser the product information (i.e. Yahoo!
Photos application) is introduced along with price and links to
terms of use and buy/cancel selection buttons (icons) 486. Download
activation 488, progress update 490 and confirmation 492 are
provided along the way when the application is loaded. The
application is then ready to launch on exiting the micro-browser
494. After being invoked, the home page of Yahoo! Photos is
displayed 498.
Once the Yahoo! Photos program is resident on the mobile phone it
can be invoked from the landing page or menu page (using the menu
button on the phone to bring up the menu or using the default menu
if Yahoo! Photos is presented as one of the default menu options).
Invocation of the Yahoo! Photos application allows, among others,
user access and manipulation of the user's mobile album as well as
online albums in the user account. FIGS. 5A and 5B show the screen
flows for online albums and mobile albums, respectively.
Invocation of Yahoo! Photos prompts this program to display the
`home` page 2.0 with two main options: mobile album, and online
album (as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B). The mobile album is an album
of photos stored locally on the mobile phone, so that the user need
not go out over the network to obtain them. The online album is an
album of photos stored on the server in the user's account. As
mentioned before, photo images can be captured and manipulated by
the mobile phone outside the Yahoo! Photos environment. These photo
images will not be available at the mobile or online albums until
they are uploaded to the server, stored in the online album and
then (selectively or in batch) downloaded to the mobile album, and
vice versa. Accordingly, selecting `online album` allows the user
to access and manipulate photo images that have already been
uploaded to the server from the user's PC or mobile phone and
stored in the online album. Likewise, selecting `mobile album`
allows the user to access and manipulate photo images that have
been already downloaded from the server into the mobile album.
Then, if the `online album` option is selected from the Yahoo!
Photos client program `home` page (2.0), as shown in FIG. 5A, it
prompts the program to display the next page which is the `sign-in`
page (1.0). It requires the user to follow a sign-in procedure that
typically includes providing a Yahoo! ID and user password. The
sign-in procedure will, among others, bring up the user's account
and relate it to the user's online albums. That is, the sign-in
procedure allows the user to access his account via the Internet
(and other proprietary network if applicable).
The next page is the `my online albums` page (2.1). For the
specific user, this online albums page lists the names of photo
albums available to the named user which are associated with the
user's account. Of course, only albums that are on the server are
listed, and if the selected album is empty the next page will
display an indication to that effect (i.e., "this album is
currently empty" at page; 2.1.6). Alternatively, if the album is
not empty, selecting that album will bring up the next page, the
`photo list` page for that album (2.1.2). In the `photo list` page,
a photo can be selected for downloading it from the server onto the
mobile phone. Additionally, a selected photo can be opened or other
actions can be invoked in relation to it. The other actions are
presented in a menu that is shown on the screen as a pull-down
menu, pop-up menu, or a menu superimposed on any part of the
current page (in this example the menu is shown as a pull-down
menu).
Such menu (hereafter "photo options menu") provides a number of
selection items, each of each representing an action, including:
`save to mobile,` `email photo,` `screen saver,` `thumbnails,`
`online albums,` and `home.` Each selection brings up a page that
corresponds to the selected action item. Two of the action items
have already been discussed above, `home` and `online album.`
Selecting home, will lead the user back to the home page (2.0), and
selecting online album, will lead the user to the aforementioned
`my online albums` page (2.1).
Selecting `thumbnails` brings up a `photo thumbs` page 2.1.1 that
shows a group of thumbnail photo images from the selected album.
Note that the number of photo thumb groups downloaded from the
server depends on the memory size of the mobile phone (or whatever
device is used). With this feature, the user can then thumbnail
through the groups of photos in the album. The groups of thumbnail
photo images in this album are each loaded from the server. The
user can then move between the images back and forth (scroll back
and forth) and select any one of the photos in the `thumbnails`
page. A selected thumbnail image will be enlarged in the next page,
the `online photo` page (2.1.3).
As can be seen, each of the pages, `photo list` (2.1.2), `photo
thumbs` (2.1.1), and `online photo` (2.1.3), includes the photo
options menu feature. Among these action items, when `save to
mobile` is invoked from the `photo list` page, `photo thumbs` page,
or `online photo` page, it causes the selected photo image
(previously downloaded from the server) to be saved in the mobile
album on the mobile phone. The `added to mobile` page (2.1.7) is
brought up in this case to show the photo being saved and to give
an indication that saving is done.
When `email photo` action is invoked, the `share as email` page
comes up (2.1.5). This page shows the photo(s) selected for
emailing and prompts the user for the email address. In this
implementation, a number of recently-used email addresses are
provided. Incidentally, `email` is simply a transport mechanism
which is presently used to send photos from camera phones. Other
transport mechanisms may be developed and employed for this
application. Then, when the photo is emailed from the mobile phone
to the selected e-mail address, a message pops up indicating that
the email has been sent or, if not, that an error occurred. For
example, a transmission will fail if the user is not authorized to
upload photos to the selected e-mail. An error message of this kind
is a product of the upload security scheme in the Yahoo! Photos
application program.
When the `screen saver` action is invoked, the selected photo will
be used to populate the screen when the phone is idle, standing by,
or starting up. The `screen saver` option is associated with screen
saver page (2.1.4) which shows the selected photo and requires the
user to select `OK` or `cancel` to add this photo to the screen
saver photo roster. A message pops up to indicate the status of the
photo download.
Going back to the mobile album is possible with the photo options
menu via the `home` page, using the `home` option as discussed
above. Another way for getting to the mobile album or any other
previous page is with the "back" action using the `back` button, as
will be later explained. Also, as mentioned above, when the Yahoo!
Photos application is invoked from the landing/menu page, the
`home` page (2.0) presents the `mobile album` as one of the
selection items. Accordingly, the mobile album can be directly
accessed via the `home` page.
The mobile album screen flow, shown in FIG. 5B, starts with the
`home` page (2.0) and selection of the mobile album brings up the
`mobile photo` list page (3.1.1). This page presents two action
menus, `open` and `action.` Thus, selection of any of the listed
photos can be followed by selecting `open` or `action.` As before,
when `open` is selected the photo is shown on the screen in the
`photo thumbs` page (3.1.2). When `actions` is selected, a mobile
photo action menu is provided. This menu includes action items such
as `slide show,` `move,` `delete photo,` `delete all` (photos),
`thumbnails,` `history,` and `home.`
Except for the photos being local (at the mobile album), the
thumbnails feature, associated with the `photo thumbs` page
(3.1.2), works as described above with reference to the online
album. A photo selected on the mobile `photo thumbs` page can be
enlarged as shown in the next page, the `mobile photo` page
(3.1.3). The menu for the `photo thumbs` and `mobile photo` pages
includes a subset of the aforementioned mobile photo action
menu.
When the slide show is invoked from such a menu the `mobile slide
show` page comes up (3.3). While this feature is active, the slide
show will scroll through the mobile album photos, showing each
photo for a certain period. The slide show will go on until the
user selects `stop` on the bottom of the page. If the user selects
`actions` a slide show menu gives the user the options of `pause,`
`show,` `normal,` and `fast.` The `pause` option is selected for
pausing the slide show; `slow` will slow down the slide show,
`speed` will speed up the slide show, and `normal` will bring it to
normal speed. (FIG. 5C, parts (i) and (ii), describes setting up
favorites for the mobile album slideshow; part (i) describes the
process in the mobile device, and part (ii) describes the process
originating at the PC).
As further shown in FIG. 5B, the `move` page comes up (3.2.1) when
the `move` action (referred to also as `rearrange` action) is
selected from any one of the three pages (3.1.1, 3.1.2 and 3.1.3).
In this page, the program displays a group of photos (thumbnails)
and the user can rearrange the photos using the 5-point navigation
key, as well as choose to drop a photo or save it (FIG. 5D shows
flow diagrams for photos view, share and save). When the `delete`
or `delete all` actions are selected, the user has the option of
deleting or canceling the delete action (as shown in pages 3.2.5
and 3.2.4). The `delete` page shows the photo selected for deletion
to allow the user to change their mind. When all the photos are
deleted, or when the mobile album is empty to begin with, the
`mobile album empty` page is displayed (3.1.4). It allows the user
to select the home page or select the answer to any one of the
queries, such as "where are my photos?" and "what is the mobile
album?." Selection of the latter will bring up the `about` page
(3.1.4.1), and in this page pressing `OK` provides user access to
the online album(s). Selection of the former brings up the `restore
album` page 3.1.4.2. The "restore" function is explained in more
detail below.
Note that, when the user signs in, the server associates the user's
identification with his historical record so that the application
program can record (backup) the photo in the server each time the
user saves a photo to the mobile album. This historical record
serves as a backup that allows the user to restore his album if the
Yahoo! Photos program is erased, for any reason, from the mobile
phone memory and the user then reloads this program. This history
feature is useful to reduce the navigation for restoring the mobile
album since the server maintains this information in the user's
client account.
It is important to note that although the history feature is
described in the context of the Yahoo! Photos program, it is useful
in any mobile device application where backup is desired. Thus,
although this feature is implemented for the Yahoo! Photos
application, it can be implemented more generically for other
applications.
In the Yahoo! Photos context, every photo from the user's online
album that is saved to the mobile album is `remembered` by the
server. Preferably, since the page traversal path is not predictive
the history is recorded accurately and fully. This is made possible
with the association of the user's Yahoo! ID to a user's historical
record on the server that records all photos saved by the user to
the mobile album. Moreover, since each mobile phone device is
distinct, and a user may have more than one device, each device can
in principle have its own distinct historical record. However, it
can be arranged when the user first establishes or later updates
his account that the user's Yahoo! ID is associated with a
plurality of mobile phones and, upon signing in, the user can have
access to his historical record from any one of these mobile
phones. Thus, in a situation where the Yahoo! Photos program is
deleted somehow or photos in the mobile album are erased for some
reason the historical record provides a mobile album backup for
restoring that album.
To that end, when the user reloads the application, it will query
the user as to whether the user wishes to restore any of the mobile
album photos. That is, when the user selects the query "where are
my photos?" (in page 3.1.4) the `restore album` page is displayed
(3.1.4.2). As with the previous page (3.1.4), this page allows the
user to go to the `home` page (2.0) and, this time via `OK`, it
allows the user to go to the next mobile `restore album` page
(3.1.4.2.1) for a historical photo download list (of photos
previously downloaded to the mobile phone).
FIG. 5E illustrates in more detail the flow of restoring the mobile
album from the server backup. Specifically, after traversing the
`home` and `mobile album empty` pages (2.0 and 3.1.4), the user
lends on the `restore album` page (3.1.4.2). On selecting the `OK`
option, if the user is logged in the Yahoo! Photos server responds
with the download history list of photos (steps 33, 35). This
response prompts the mobile device to bring up the `restore album`
page (3.1.4.2.1) with the download history list of, say, 20 last
photos that were added to the mobile album. From this historical
list, the photos can be picked (see, e.g., checkmarks) and then the
selected photos can be restored to the mobile album using the
save/cancel menu options. The selected photos are then downloaded
from the server in a batch process (step 37). The mobile album is
then available for user access via `mobile album` page (3.1.1).
Note that the pages shown in FIGS. 5A-5E and discussed herein are
exemplary rather than exhaustive, and they do not necessarily
include all possible pages (or user interaction cards) that a photo
application such as Yahoo! Photos presents. Moreover, the reference
designations (call-out numbers) typically refer to the pages
themselves rather than any portion of their content. Where
applicable, similar pages appear in different figures with the same
call-out numbers, e.g., home page 2.0, although their respective
contents can vary slightly.
As to navigating through the pages on the mobile phone, the pages
can be traversed forward as described above and they can be
traversed backwards using the "back button" feature. FIG. 6
provides a simplified diagram to illustrate the "back button"
feature. As can be seen, the "back a level" mode allows
hierarchical backwards sequence traversal one level each time the
`back` button is touch activated or clicked (hereafter "clicked").
The "back in sequence" mode allows sequential backwards one page
each time the `back` button is pressed. For example, in back a
level mode, back a level takes the application from a photo page
(e.g., 6) one level up to the list of photos page (3); and from
there one more level up to the list of albums page (2) and one more
level up to the home page (1). As can be further seen in this
example, the back in sequence mode functions to take the
application from the current photo page (6) to the former photo
page (5), rather than up one level (3), when the back button is
touched. Additional activations of the back button will traverse
through all the pages in reverse sequence.
It makes no difference if the "back button" feature is used while
in the online album or mobile album part of the application. The
principles apply equally well to both situations. Either way, the
steps (pages traversed) are remembered, and they can be recorded
server side, locally, or both on the server side and locally.
Notably, while the "back button" feature provides backwards
traversal through pages as described above the navigation feature
as described in more detail below provides up-down traversal within
these pages, particularly photo pages. For the type of navigation
which involves up-down traversal within the aforementioned pages
the relevant and effective method involves collapsing and expanding
and following the hierarchy presented in these pages.
Because mobile devices typically have limited display size and an
awkward navigation mechanism, this type of navigation pattern
improves the user interface in the context of mobile application.
Moreover, with this type of navigation there is room left for an
action menu or action icons that are context specific. Therefore,
this directory navigation feature addresses the challenge of
navigating a directory tree while simultaneously providing multiple
context sensitive action choices for a selected item.
To that end, the directories are structured as well as presented in
a tree-like hierarchical format. For example, in mobile photos
application such as the client Yahoo! Photos, the directory is the
mobile albums. In other possible implementations, the directory
points to the mobile albums. Either way, the directory is
structured as a tree-like hierarchy. In the hierarchical
tree-shaped directory each item is a node. In the context of the
client Yahoo !photos application, a node is, an item in the mobile
albums list. In this context, the directory navigation employs node
collapsing and expansion. For each node, the state of either
expanded or collapsed is remembered so that when the very same node
is clicked, the right action can be taken accordingly. Clicking on
the node functions as a toggle between the collapsed and expanded
states.
The following example of collapsing and expansion will make it
clearer. When the directory (hierarchical tree-shaped directory of
nodes) is displayed it essentially take the following exemplary
form: +aphotos +animals +my garden +my kids Clicking `aphotos`
album expands that node to provide the a list of items in that
node. FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a mobile album showing a list of
photos along with action icons (at the bottom of the screen). The
list of photos includes, for example: -aphotos alex.jpg
alhambra.jpg derrick&Kevin.jpg greece.jpg more . . . +animals
+my garden +my kids Clicking `aphotos` album again collapses that
node back to: +aphotos +animals +my garden +my kids
Then, as further shown, when an item within a directory tree is
chosen, action icons are graphically presented. These icons are
provided for users to take actions specific to the selected item.
For example, the first icon on the left allows the user to bring up
the selected photo. Also, if the number of icons exceeds the space
limit of the screen the left/right arrows allow the user to scroll
left or right to reveal additional icons of action choices. The
number of action icons is determined by the nature of the item
selected. Preferably, only actions that apply to the item are made
available. This, of course, saves space on the screen. Thus, in
view of the above, the navigation scheme improves user
interface.
Implementation Details
Additional implementation details associated with the foregoing
description are provided below. These implementation details
include an initial list of devices, soft key mapping, labels,
global elements and screen flows tables for the online albums and
mobile albums. These details are described in the following
pages.
Possible Mobile Devices
The visual and interaction design as described herein should
accommodate various types of mobile devices, including, for
example, those listed in the table below.
TABLE-US-00002 VENDOR MODEL USABLE PIXEL DIMENSIONS Audiovox 8450
128 .times. 112 Samsung A660 128 .times. 146 (without Soft key) 128
.times. 131 (with Soft key: 15) Sanyo RL2000 (7200) 120 .times. 112
(include soft key) Sanyo RL2500 (5400) 132 (W) .times. 160 (H)
including Soft key Sanyo 5500 132 (w) .times. 160 (h) including
Soft key Sony Ericsson T608 128 .times. 114 pixels Toshiba 9950 261
.times. 240 Hitachi SH-P300 120 w .times. 130 h LG 5350 120 .times.
96 Samsung A500 128 .times. 146 (without Soft key) 128 .times. 131
(with Soft key: 15) Samsung N400 128 .times. 114 (without Soft key)
128 .times. 102 (with Soft key: 12) Samsung A600 128 .times. 146
(without Soft key) 128 .times. 131 (with Soft key: 15) Samsung
VGA1000 (A620) 128 .times. 146 (without Soft key) 128 .times. 131
(with Soft key: 15) Sanyo 4900 120 .times. 112 includes Soft key
Sanyo 5300 132 .times. 160 (includes soft key) Sanyo 8100 128
.times. 120 (with soft key) 120 .times. 112 (without Soft key)
Soft Key Mapping
For the purpose of this invention, the following keys are available
on the mobile devices: Up; Down; Left; Right; Select/OK; Left Soft
key; Right Soft key; and Back. If a device does not have an obvious
select key, it is assumed that the MIDP (mobile information device
profile) implementation will automatically provide a select option
at one of the soft keys or in one of the soft key menus.
TABLE-US-00003 KEY MAPPING Up Scrolls the cursor up, or selects the
previous item in a list. Down Scrolls the cursor down, or selects
the next item in a list. Left Scrolls the cursor left if possible.
Right Scrolls the cursor right if possible. Select LINK OR BUTTON:
Go to appropriate screen EXCLUSIVE LIST (Radio buttons): Selects
the radio button. MULTIPLE LIST (Checkboxes): Checks and un-checks
the checkboxes. TEXTBOX: Takes the user to the text editor TEXT
STRING: Does nothing Two Soft keys Soft key functionality varies
greatly among devices. The ordering and positioning of options
can't be controlled with any degree of accuracy; the order shown
indicates only the relative importance of the options. In the
examples presented herein, options are assigned a type (BACK, EXIT,
ITEM) The following layout is preferred: Item 1: primary soft key
Item 2: If no others are present, secondary soft key should have
item 2 as its label. If additional items are available they should
be listed in priority order in the menu, which is accessed via the
secondary soft key. Primary soft key should have the same function
as the `Enter`/`OK` key Back `Back` button links back to previous
screen. Does NOT link one level up in the navigation tree, unless
that is the previous screen. Does not link back to confirmation or
error popups. When technical constraints exist, data previously
entered into fields may not be shown when user navigates back to a
page. However, actual implementations may differ based on the
technical constraints. Default In general, the first item on a page
is pre-selected (default item) unless the user Selection has
performed some action, like viewing or renaming an image. Misc.
keys If arrow buttons on the side of the phone are available they
should scroll down an entire page in a list or thumbnail screen.
Image names should appear bold/strong when displayed on an
instructional screen, e.g. 2.1.4. Normal text should be used for
lists of images. In this document any underlined item is a link.
Actual presentation of links, whether underlined or other, is
determined by the device.
Soft Key & Menu Labels
In a representative implementation, labels that may appear on a
soft key are restricted to 7 characters. Menu-only items are
restricted to 14 characters.
Common Labels
TABLE-US-00004 OK Performs the default action for a screen or for a
selected item. Moves the user forward in a task. (e.g., opens an
album or photo.) Cancel Used in addition to "Back" when an action
was initiated and can be cancelled. Cancel usually performs same
action as back, but is displayed to increase user confidence that
the action was cancelled. Edit When possible, "Edit" links to a
textbox editing screen. Open Opens a folder, message, file, etc.
Should not be used for links not associated with files, folders,
etc. Back "Back" label should be used only for the Back function
described above. If possible, Back should always map only to the
device back button. Home Links to the home screen of the
MIDlet.
Global Elements Confirmation Popup
One type of global elements, presented as "Confirm Popup" screens,
are used for displaying a confirmation to the user. The
confirmation popup screens contain simple text such as "Done" or
"Saved", and they disappears automatically after a short time.
In Progress Screen
The "in progress" screen informs the user that the application is
waiting for a response from the server or is processing a request.
Each device has a default screen with text and a moving graphic,
and, alternatively, it is replaced with a Yahoo! Canvas screen.
Screen Flows: Online Albums
As described above, the online album pages are made available to
the user in forward and backwards traversal; each page having
default selection items associated with it. The forward traversal
starts, of course, with the home page (2.0). The following tables
outline for each page separately the default selection items
available in that page for screen flows.
TABLE-US-00005 2.0 J2ME Client Home Default Mobile Album Selection
Pref. Actions Label Function Location Type Priority Left soft key
opens Primary ITEM 1 selected page. Soft key, Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 OK
Button also open pages. Enter/OK Open Up Arrow Select previous item
Down Select next item Arrow Left Select next item Arrow Right
Select previous item Arrow Comments Descriptive text and/or
graphics will be added to this screen. Icons may be used in place
of text links. "Sign Out" appears only when user is signed in.
TABLE-US-00006 1.0 Sign In Default ID Field. Selection Pref.
Actions Label Function Location Type Priority Edit Opens selected
Primary EDIT 1 textbox for Soft key, editing OK Button SignIn
Submits Form Secondary OK 1 Soft key Back 2.0 J2ME Client Back BACK
1 Home button Up Arrow Jumps up. Down Jumps down. Arrow Left Arrow
-- Right -- Arrow Comments Cache as much as legally &
technically possible.
TABLE-US-00007 2.1 My Online Albums Default First Album, or last
selected album in current session. Selection Primary Open. Same as
Enter. Soft key Pref. Actions Label Function Location Type Priority
Open Opens selected Primary ITEM 1 album to last-used Soft key,
view- 2.1.1 or OK Button 2.1.2. List is default. If album contains
no images, opens 2.1.6 Photos List Empty. Back Previous screen.
Back BACK 1 button Up Arrow Jumps to previous item in list. If top
item is selected, does nothing. Down Jumps to next item in list. If
last item is selected, Arrow does nothing. Left -- Arrow Right --
Arrow
TABLE-US-00008 2.1.1 Photos Thumbs Default One thumbnail is always
selected. Selection is Selection indicated by 2 pixel black border.
When scrolling to a page either (1) or (4) is selected. When
returning from a list view, full-screen view, or action screen the
last selected image is selected. Pref. Actions Label Function
Location Type Priority Open Opens 2.1.3 Primary ITEM 1 Online Photo
Soft key, NOTE: OK Button pressing 1, 2, 3, or 4 opens the photo
currently in that position. Add to Saves image Menu ITEM 2 Mobile
to mobile Album album and opens 2.1.7 Added to Mobile Screen Links
to 2.1.4 Menu ITEM 3 Saver Save as Screensaver Email Links to 2.1.5
Menu ITEM 3 Photo Share as Email Photo Links to 2.1.2 Menu SCREEN 1
List Photo List Online Links to 2.1 Menu SCREEN 2 Albums My Online
Albums Home Links to 2.0 Menu SCREEN 3 J2ME Client Home Back
Previous screen Back BACK 1 button Up Arrow When (3) or (4) is
selected, jumps up to (1) or (2). When (1) or (2), moves up one
row. Down When (1) or (2) is selected, jumps down to (3) or (4).
Arrow When (3) or (4), moves down one row. Left Cycle through all
thumbs on the screen, (4)-(1) then Arrow to the row above. Rows are
added one at a time, so the top row shifts down when a new row is
loaded. Right Cycle through all thumbs on the screen, (1)-(4) then
to the Arrow row below. Rows are added one at a time, so the bottom
row shifts up when a new row is loaded. Comments List loops back to
beginning when user reaches last image. When looping to the
beginning, the full screen refreshes with 2 rows of images. Each
photo is surrounded by 2 pixels of white space. The selected photo
has a 2 pixel black border.
TABLE-US-00009 2.1.2 Photo List Default One item is always
selected. Selection When returning from a thumbnail view,
full-screen view, or action screen the last selected image is
selected. After deleting, the image in the spot that contained the
deleted image is selected. Pref. Actions Label Function Location
Type Priority Open Opens Primary ITEM 1 2.1.3 Online Soft key,
Photo OK Button Add to Saves Menu ITEM 2 Mobile image to Album
mobile album Screen Links to Menu ITEM 3 Saver 2.1.4 Save as
Screensaver Email Links to Menu ITEM 3 Photo 2.1.5 Share as Email
Thumbnails Links to Menu SCREEN 1 2.1.1 Photo Thumbs Online Links
to 2.1 Menu SCREEN 2 Albums My Online Albums Home Links to 2.0 Menu
SCREEN 3 J2ME Client Home Back Previous Back BACK 1 screen button
Up Arrow Jumps to previous item in list. If top item is selected,
does nothing. Down Jumps to next item in list. If last item is
selected, Arrow does nothing. Left -- Arrow Right -- Arrow Comments
File extensions are displayed. Items are displayed in order
specified by the Yahoo! Photos system. User cannot rename, delete,
or move photos.
TABLE-US-00010 2.1.3 Online Photo Default -- Selection Pref.
Actions Label Function Location Type Priority Done Links to 2.1.1
Primary SREEN 1 or 2.1.2 Soft key Add to Saves image Menu ITEM 2
Mobile to mobile Album album Screen Links to 2.1.4 Menu ITEM 3
Saver Save as Screensaver Email Links to 2.1.5 Menu ITEM 3 Photo
Share as Email Online Links to 2.1 Menu SCREEN 2 Albums My Online
Albums Home Links to 2.0 Menu SCREEN 3 J2ME Client Home Back
Previous Back BACK 1 screen button Up Arrow -- Down -- Arrow Left
Jumps to previous image in gallery. Arrow Right Jumps to next image
in gallery. Arrow Comments Image should be as large as possible on
any particular screen.
TABLE-US-00011 2.1.4 Save as Screensaver Default Text entry field
Selection Pref. Actions Label Function Location Type Priority OK
Initiates Primary SCREEN 1 PCS Vision Soft key, download OK Button
process. Cancel Cancels Second SCREEN 2 operation and Soft key
returns to previous screen Back Previous screen Back BACK 1 button
Up Arrow -- Down -- Arrow Left Arrow Right Arrow Comments
TABLE-US-00012 2.1.5 Share as Email Default Text entry field
Selection Pref. Actions Label Function Location Type Priority Send
Send. Sends Secondary ITEM 1 email to Soft key recipients and user
with link to image on web. Confirmation pops up for a moment, then
user is returned to 2.1.1, 2.1.2, or 2.1.3. If email address was
not formed correctly an error appears. Edit/ Opens textbox Primary
1 Pick/ for editing, Soft key, OK toggles state OK Button of
checkbox, or sends. Back Previous screen Back BACK 1 button Up
Arrow -- Down -- Arrow Left -- Arrow Right -- Arrow Comments
TABLE-US-00013 2.1.6 Photo List Empty Default Selection Pref.
Actions Label Function Location Type Priority Back 2.1 My Online
Albums Back BACK 1 button Up Arrow -- Down -- Arrow Left -- Arrow
Right -- Arrow Comments Displayed for a moment, then automatically
links back to 2.1 My Online Albums
Screen Flows: Mobile Album
As with the online album, the mobile album pages are made available
to the user in forward and backwards traversal; each page having
default selection items associated with it. Here again, the forward
traversal starts, of course, with the home page (2.0). The
following tables outline for each page separately the default
selection items available in that page for screen flows.
TABLE-US-00014 3.1.1 Mobile Photo List Default One item is always
selected. Selection When returning from a thumbnail view,
full-screen view, or action screen the last selected image is
selected. After deleting, the image in the spot that contained the
deleted image is selected. Pref. Actions Label Function Location
Type Priority Open Opens selected Primary ITEM 1 photo in 3.1.3
Soft key, Mobile Photo OK Button Slideshow Links to 3.3 Menu ITEM 2
Mobile Slideshow, starting show with current photo Move Links to
3.2.1 Menu ITEM 4 Move Delete Links to 3.2.4 Menu ITEM 4 Delete
Thumb- Links to 3.1.1 Menu SCREEN 1 nails Mobile- Photo Thumbs Home
Links to 2.0 Menu SCREEN 2 J2ME Client Home Back Previous screen
Back BACK 1 button Up Arrow Jumps to previous item in list. If top
item is selected, does nothing. Down Jumps to previous item in
list. If last item is selected, Arrow does nothing. Left -- Arrow
Right -- Arrow Comments File extensions are not displayed.
TABLE-US-00015 3.1.2 Mobile Photo Thumbs Default One thumbnail is
always selected. Selection is indicated by 2 pixel Selection
border. When returning from a list view, full-screen view, or
action screen the last selected image is selected. After deleting,
the image in the spot that contained the deleted image is selected.
After Moving, the last moved image is selected. Pref. Actions Label
Function Location Type Priority Open Opens 3.1.3 Mobile Primary
ITEM 1 Photo Soft key, NOTE: pressing OK 1, 2, 3, or 4 opens the
Button photo currently in that position. Slideshow Links to 3.3
Mobile Menu ITEM 2 Slideshow, starting show with current photo Move
Links to 3.2.1 Move Menu ITEM 4 Delete Links to 3.2.4 Delete Menu
ITEM 4 Photo List Links to 3.1.1 Menu SCREEN 1 Mobile- Photo List
Home Links to 2.0 J2ME Menu SCREEN 2 Client Home Back Previous
screen Back BACK 1 button Up Arrow When (3) or (4) is selected,
jumps up to (1) or (2). When (1) or (2), moves up one row. Down
When (1) or (2) is selected, jumps down to (3) or (4). Arrow When
(3) or (4), moves down one row. Left Arrow Cycle through all thumbs
on the screen, (4)-(1) then to the row above. Rows are added one at
a time, so the top row shifts down when a new row is loaded. Right
Cycle through all thumbs on the screen, (1)-(4) then to the row
below. Arrow Rows are added one at a time, so the bottom row shifts
up when a new row is loaded. Comments List loops back to beginning
when user reaches last image. When looping to the beginning, the
full screen refreshes all 4 images. When an image is deleted all
other images move to fill the empty space Each photo is surrounded
by 2 pixels of white space. The selected photo has a 2 pixel
border.
TABLE-US-00016 3.1.3 Mobile Photo Default -- Selection Pref.
Actions Label Function Location Type Priority Done Album. Links to
most Primary ITEM 1 recent view of album - Soft key, 3.1.1 or 3.1.2
- with OK most recently viewed Button image selected. Slideshow
Links to 3.3 Mobile Menu ITEM 2 Slideshow, starting show with
current photo Move Links to 3.2.1 Move Menu ITEM 4 Delete Links to
3.2.4 Delete Menu ITEM 4 Home Links to 2.0 J2ME Menu SCREEN 2
Client Home Back Previous screen Back BACK 1 button Up Arrow --
Down -- Arrow Left Arrow Jumps to previous image in gallery. When
first image is reached, loops to end. Right Jumps to next image in
gallery. When last image is reached, loops to Arrow beginning.
Comments Image should be as large as possible on any particular
screen.
TABLE-US-00017 3.1.4 Mobile Album Empty Default My Online Albums
Selection Pref. Actions Label Function Location Type Priority OK
Primary ITEM 1 Soft key, OK Button Back Previous screen Back BACK 1
button Up Arrow -- Down -- Arrow Left Arrow -- Right -- Arrow
Comments
TABLE-US-00018 3.1.4.1 Mobile- About Default My Online Albums
Selection Pref. Actions Label Function Location Type Priority OK
Links to 2.1 My Primary ITEM 1 Online Albums Soft key, OK Button
Back Previous screen Back BACK 1 button Up Arrow -- Down -- Arrow
Left Arrow -- Right -- Arrow Comments
TABLE-US-00019 3.1.4.2 Mobile- Restore Album Info Default My Online
Albums Selection Pref. Actions Label Function Location Type
Priority OK Links to 3.1.4.2.1 Primary ITEM 1 Restore Mobile Soft
key, Album OK Button Back Previous screen Back BACK 1 button Up
Arrow -- Down -- Arrow Left Arrow -- Right -- Arrow Comments
TABLE-US-00020 3.1.4.2.1 Restore Mobile Album Default Selection
Pref. Actions Label Function Location Type Priority Pick Toggles
state of Primary ITEM 1 checkbox Soft key, OK Button Save Downloads
all Secondary SCREEN 1 selected images to Soft key Mobile Album
Back Previous screen Back BACK 1 button Up Arrow Jumps to previous
item in list. If top item is selected, does nothing. Down Jumps to
next item in list. If last item is Arrow selected, does nothing.
Left May toggle state of checkbox. Arrow Right May toggle state of
checkbox. Arrow Comments This screen lists a close approximation of
the items downloaded to a particular phone using a particular
account. When the user has selected the photos he wishes to restore
and presses "Save" all the images are downloaded to the mobile
album. If the Mobile Album already has photos in it, restored
photos are added at the bottom of the list.
TABLE-US-00021 3.2.1 Move Default Selected Photo Selection Pref.
Actions Label Function Location Type Priority Done Drops photo in
Primary OK 1 current location. Soft key, Links to 3.2.1 with OK
Button moved photo selected. Back Links to previous Back BACK 1
page (before move button command was selected) and cancels move. Up
Arrow When (3) or (4) is selected, swaps with (1) or (2). When (1)
or (2) is selected, moves up one row. Down When (1) or (2) is
selected, swaps with (3) or (4). Arrow When (3) or (4) is selected,
moves down one row. Left When (1) is selected, jumps to previous
screen and swaps Arrow with (4) on that screen. When (2) is
selected, swaps with (1). When (3) is selected, swaps with (2).
When (4) is selected, swaps with (3). When first image is selected,
jumps to last image. Right When (4) is selected, jumps to previous
screen and Arrow swaps with (1) on that screen. When (3) is
selected, swaps with (2). When (2) is selected, swaps with (3).
When (3) is selected, swaps with (4). When final image is selected,
jumps to first image. Comments Small arrow images overlaid on the
image being moved.
TABLE-US-00022 3.2.4 Delete Default -- Selection Pref. Actions
Label Function Location Type Priority Delete Deletes photo and
Primary OK 1 returns user to 3.1.1 Soft key or 3.1.2 (last used)
with image in position of deleted image selected. Cancel Cancels
deletion Secondary BACK 2 and links to Soft key previous screen
Back Cancels deletion Back BACK 1 and links to button previous
screen Up Arrow -- Down -- Arrow Left -- Arrow Right -- Arrow
Comments
TABLE-US-00023 3.2.4 Delete All Default -- Selection Pref. Actions
Label Function Location Type Priority Delete Deletes all photos
Primary OK 1 and returns user Soft key to 3.1.4 Mobile Album Empty.
Cancel Cancels deletion and Secondary BACK 2 links to previous Soft
key screen Back Cancels deletion and Back BACK 1 links to previous
button screen Up Arrow -- Down -- Arrow Left -- Arrow Right --
Arrow Comments
TABLE-US-00024 3.3 Mobile Slideshow Default -- Selection Pref.
Actions Label Function Location Type Priority Stop Ends slideshow
and Primary OK 1 returns user to 3.1.1 or Soft key 3.1.2 (last
used). Pause Pauses slideshow and Menu SCREEN 1 switches first
Action to "Play." Pressing again re-starts slideshow from the
current image. Slow Switches speed to Menu SCREEN 2 Slow. Normal
Switches speed to Menu SCREEN 3 Normal. Fast Switches speed to Fast
Menu SCREEN 4 Up Arrow -- Down -- Arrow Left Arrow Jumps to
previous image. Slideshow continues to play at same speed. Right
Jumps to next image. Slideshow continues to play at same speed.
Arrow Comments Image should be as large as possible on any
particular screen. If possible, backlight should remain on until
slideshow is stopped. Screen should not refresh while Actions menu
is open. The screen has no header.
Although the present invention has been described in accordance
with the embodiments shown, variations to the embodiments would be
apparent to those skilled in the art and those variations would be
within the scope and spirit of the present invention. Accordingly,
it is in tended that the specification and embodiments shown be
considered exemplary only, with a true scope of the invention being
indicated by the following claims and equivalents.
* * * * *
References